Tweety's High-Flying Adventure is a 2000 direct-to-video animated film produced by Tom Minton and James T. Walker, written by Tom Minton, Tim Cahill and Julie McNally, directed by James T. Walker, Karl Toerge and Charles Visser, starring Tweety. It also features other characters such as Sylvester (as, usual, the main antagonist), Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Lola Bunny, and Speedy Gonzales, as well as cameos by Alex Lovy-created characters Cool Cat and Colonel Rimfire.
The movie is an updated spoof of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days. It was the first ever Looney Tunes direct-to-video film, as well as the first long form animated film featuring Tweety in the lead role, and the only animated film featuring Tweety in the lead prior to 2022's King Tweety.
Its working title was Around the World in Eighty Puddytats, which remains on the end credit roll as a title of one of its three major songs. Many of the key creative people from the 1995-2000 TV series The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries also worked on Tweety's High-Flying Adventure, which commenced shortly after the series wrapped production in May of 1999, and therefore the film shares a similar animation style to the series' fifth and final season. Co-producer Tom Minton instigated the project, which was only the second internally produced direct-to-video animated film done at the Warner Bros. Animation division in Sherman Oaks, California.
Plot[]
On the 2nd of October, when Colonel Rimfire, at the Looney Club in London, announces about his beliefs that cats are the most intelligent animals (after his many plans were foiled by Cool Cat), Granny, hoping to raise money for a nearby children's park, makes a wager that her Tweety can fly around the world in 80 days, collecting the paw prints of 80 cats in the process. Sylvester, still hoping to make Tweety his personal snack, is incensed at the thought of some other cat getting the little bird first and vows to follow Tweety around the world and catch the canary himself; unbeknownst to either one, a thief is also present.
Tweety sets a course to Paris, but is blown by a strong wind to the Swiss Alps, where he gets trapped, as does Daffy Duck, a mountain climber, but Bugs Bunny, a snowboarder, saves them both. On October 12th, Tweety goes back to Paris, where he causes Pepé Le Pew, who is running French customs, to mistake Sylvester for a female skunk when both Sylvester and Penelope Pussycat fight over catching and eating Tweety by inadvertently getting Penelope's white stripe painted on Sylvester's back. Tweety continues on to Venice, but grows overweight after eating too much bird seed at an Italian restaurant. On a longboat, he faces a lot of cats, but he overpowers them via rolling on them like a bowling ball and goes back to normal. While attempting to sleep in Egypt, he is chased into a tomb by Sylvester and several other cats, but escapes. In the African jungle, he outsmarts two lions with help from the Minah Bird.
In the Chinese Himalayas, he befriends another canary known as Aoogah (the name coming from her ability to imitate a horn, as well as being a pun on Princess Aouda), after rescuing her from a sacrifice. They are taken by more winds into Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Japan, where they collect stamps and trophies (Aoogah places a sticky note which reads "Send to London" on each one), and eventually make it onto a boat to the United States. Sylvester catches up with them, but two mice cause him to slide into the water. Tweety and Aoogah are able to save him, but end up on a beach in Australia. Sylvester meets the Tasmanian Devil and they chase the two canaries, resorting to a motorcycle, but end up in the ocean.
Tweety, Aoogah and Sylvester ride a windsurfer to San Francisco. After the canaries pick up paw prints in Fisherman's Wharf, Sylvester hijacks a tram to chase them, but ends up on Alcatraz, to the fury of the tram's driver, Yosemite Sam. The two canaries make it safely on a train to Las Vegas, where they escape more cats and Sylvester puts Yosemite on a train out of the city. Afterwards, the canaries go through more cities across the US, finishing in New York City. There, they trick Sylvester into getting onto a Concorde alone.
The two canaries are caught up in an Atlantic hurricane and separated, and Tweety even loses his license to fly, as well as a transmitter on his ankle, leading everyone monitoring the wager to believe he has lost it. Tweety seemingly sacrifices what's left of the wager to save Aoogah. They are reunited on an island, where they are caught by more cats They allow the hurricane to carry them away, and then fly back through the hurricane to escape the island.
In a pub in the English countryside, they discover the thief when he attempts to steal Tweety's license to fly. Aoogah lets out a Horn Scream to get the license back. Sylvester attempts to frame Tweety by passing his license for a stolen passport. He almost succeeds, but Aoogah reveals that there are two passports: one is Tweety's license, having been given to him by the Queen, and the other one, belonging to the Duke of Edinburgh, is the stolen passport, which the canaries had unknowingly stolen during their encounter with the thief. Sylvester is arrested for stealing the Duke's passport, and the canaries leave the pub, while the thief reflects on his idiocy.
Tweety and Aoogah believe they are a day late, until they discover that it's the 21st of December because they crossed the international date line. They are able to get back to London, complete their mission and save the park, and Tweety even gets knighted by the Queen, whilst Sylvester heads to prison.
Availability[]
Streaming[]
Gallery[]
Characters[]
Aside from Tweety, who has the lead role, other Looney Tunes make brief cameos and play some major roles:
- Sylvester - The main antagonist, who's still waiting for a chance to eat Tweety.
- Granny - Tweety's owner.
- Colonel Rimfire - The secondary antagonist, who threatens to close down the Looney Club in London for "unpaid municipal debt" and doubts Tweety's abilities
- Aoogah - Tweety's traveling companion, whom he rescues from a cult of cats seeking to sacrifice her.
- Shropshire Slasher - The tertiary antagonist.
- Daffy Duck (Mountain Climber)
- Bugs Bunny (Snowboarder)
- Penelope Pussycat
- Pepé Le Pew (France counsel)
- Foghorn Leghorn (Floyd's of London)
- Miss Prissy (Floyd's of London)
- Henery Hawk (Floyd's of London)
- Egghead Jr.
- Charlie Dog (Venice Restaurant Waiter) (his appearance is a reference to his previous short A Hound for Trouble)
- Minah Bird
- The Lion from Inki's shorts
- Pete Puma (cameo when Tweety is chased)
- Gossamer (Tibet counsel)
- Hugo the Abominable Snowman (Tibet monster who captures the cat cult)
- Speedy Gonzales (Mexico counsel)
- Rocky and Mugsy (Brazil counsels)
- Hector the Bulldog (Argentina counsel)
- Hubie and Bertie (cruise ship cheese thieves)
- Hippety Hopper (Australia counsel)
- Tasmanian Devil
- Wile E. Coyote (cameo just before Taz falls off a cliff in Australia)
- Yosemite Sam (San Francisco trolley conductor)
- Marvin the Martian (New York terrorist)
- Pussyfoot (Las Vegas casino cat)
- Lola Bunny (Looney News Network anchorwoman)
- Cool Cat (disguised for most of the film)
- Unnamed Camel (Egyptian counsel)
Voice Cast[]
- Joe Alaskey - Tweety Bird, Sylvester (also meowing vocals), Colonel Rimfire, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Marvin the Martian, Henery Hawk, Pepe Le Pew, Council Cat Leader
- June Foray - Granny
- Tress MacNeille - Miss Prissy, Airplane Worker, Queen of England
- Jim Cummings - Tasmanian Devil, Rocky, Yosemite Sam, Cool Cat, Shropshire Slasher, Casino Cat, Policeman, Hubie
- Jeff Glen Bennett - Casino Cat, Foghorn Leghorn, Bertie
- T'Keyah Crystal Keymah - Aoogah (uncredited)
- Stan Freberg - Pete Puma
- Kath Soucie (uncredited) - Lola Bunny
- April Winchell - Additional Voices
- Pat Musick - Additional Voices
- Carlos Alazraqui - Additional Voices
- Corey Burton - Additional Voices
- Steve Bernstein - Additional Voices
- Julie Bernstein - Additional Voices
- Elizabeth Lamers - Additional Voices
- Rob Paulsen - Sphinx, Ship Crewman, Casino Cat, Additional Voices
- Frank Welker - Mugsy, Hugo the Abominable Snowman, Hector the Bulldog, Tweety's chirping effects, Additional Cats, Additional Voices
Quotes:[]
- Tweety: [after Sylvester gets crushed by a giant globe] Some globe-trotter he is.
Bugs Bunny: When life hangs in the balance, you can always depend on one thing: Extreme Sports!
Tweety: Thanks. You're a couple of crown jewels. - Bugs Bunny: Hey, it's a living.
- [Tweety flies away]
- Daffy Duck: Showoff.
Sylvester: NOBODY swipes MY canary croissant, mademoiselle!
Sylvester: Listen, I know how it looks, but you've got it all wrong. I'm not a skunk! - Pepé Le Pew: Love can never be wrong.
- [kisses him]
Henery Hawk: We've set the odds at 20 to 1 in Tweety's favour. - [a reply comes through on his phone]
- Henery Hawk: Come on, bet some bird seed! Don't be chicken!
- Prissy: MY GOODNESS! Haven't we come far enough to stop using that horrid term?!
- Foghorn Leghorn: Keep your shirt on, Prissy. He's just, I say just stirring the wagering pot.
Tweety: I think this is a good time for me to take a little cat-nap.
Tweety: You've heard of the Winking Tunnel? Well, that's the Stinking Tunnel.
Tweety: Guess they never heard of the saying: "Birds of a feather flock together."
Tweety: Never underestimate a small package.
Tweety: Enough of this "backwards" business! Let's show the jet stream who's boss.
Hubie: All we need to do is run- [opens a door and sees Sylvester] FOR OUR LIVES!
Sylvester: PUNCH IT! - Bike Salesman: Whoa. Safety first, mate.
Sylvester: Hey, it's Extreme Sports, not Extreme Peril!
Sylvester: Hey, Bright Eyes, step on it! My lunch- I mean, our lunch is getting away!
Tweety: Puddy can fly about as well as he can swim. - Sylvester: Oh no. Not the water again!
Yosemite Sam: Next stop, Union Square. - [Sylvester hijacks the trolley]
- Yosemite Sam: Hey! What the-
- [Sylvester releases the brake and drives the trolley at full speed]
Yosemite Sam: Stop it, stop it! You'll never make the turn if'n you don't slow down at the bottom of the hill! Pull back on the stick, you nitwit!
Yosemite Sam: Slow up, ya dang cat! I think we're back on Market Street! - [reads a nearby sign]
- Yosemite Sam: "Welcome to Alcatraz"? That's a closed-up hoosegow! Built on an island!
- [starts chasing Sylvester and whacking him with his hat]
- Yosemite Sam: YOU GOT US STUCK ON THIS STUPID ROCK, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING FELINE! YOU NO GOOD RAZZIN FRAZZIN KITTY CAT! GET BACK HERE AND TAKE WHAT FOR! COME HERE, BOY!
Marvin the Martian: Oh, drat! You sabotaged my Manhattan Destruction Weapon with an inferior grade of Earth condiment! - [walks away]
- Sylvester: And I'm a dissatisfied customer.
- [condiments fall on him]
- Sylvester: Hold the onions.
Sylvester: Got you this time, you little- - [gets hit by a cab]
Tweety: So long, Puddy! See you in London! - Aoogah lets out a Horn Scream. Sylvester displays his Wanted poster and starts banging on the plane window, screaming.]
Tweety's Pawprint Collecting Timeline[]
- London, England to Paris, France. 1 pawprint collected
- Paris, France to Venice, Italy. 37 pawprints collected
- Venice, Italy to Cairo, Egypt. 56 pawprints collected
- Cairo Egypt to The African Jungle. 58 pawprints collected
- The African Jungle to The Himalayas in Tibet. 62 pawprints collected
- The Himalayas in Tibet to China. 62 pawprints collected
- China to Mexico 62 pawprints collected
- Mexico to Rio de Janeiro. 62 pawprints collected
- Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aries, Argentina. 62 pawprints collected
- Buenos Aries, Argentina to Yokohama, Japan. 62 pawprints collected
- Yokohama, Japan to Australia. 62 pawprints collected
- Australia to San Francisco, California. 62 pawprints collected
- San Francisco, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. 62 pawprints collected
- Las Vegas, Nevada to St. Louis, Missouri. 76 pawprints collected
- St. Louis, Missouri to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 77 pawprints collected
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Chicago, Illinois. 78 pawprints collected
- Chicago, Illinois to New York City, New York. 79 pawprints collected
- New York City, New York to London, England. 80 pawprints collected
Reception[]
The film received a 5.7 rating on IMDb, indicating mixed reviews.
Notes[]
- This is the first fully traditionally-animated Looney Tunes feature film to be produced using digital ink-and-paint animation, as opposed to traditional cel animation.
- The television network Looney News Network, which Lola Bunny does the news report for, is a parody of the real-life television network CNN a.k.a. Cable News Network. Coincidentally, CNN is also owned by Warner Bros. at the time of the film's release following the 1996 Time Warner-Turner Entertainment merger.
- This film was released as somewhat of a spiritual successor to The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, as it has Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny as main characters, an appearance by Colonel Rimfire, and a cameo appearance by Cool Cat. Hector the Bulldog appears in it as well, but his appearance is minor. He is not shown with Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny, but is instead shown as a counsel in Argentina who greets Tweety during his mission of collecting 80 pawprints from 80 cats.
- Pepe Le Pew romantically pursues Sylvester by mistake once again in this film, much like in the Looney Tunes short "Dog Pounded" (1954) and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries episode "Is Paris Stinking?" In fact, this film marks the first time that Pepe romantically pursues both Sylvester (although unintentional) and Penelope Pussycat.
- One of the cats involved in Aoogah's canary sacrifice has a voice similar to that of Clarence Cat from the Looney Tunes short "Birds Anonymous" (1957), whose voice was provided by Mel Blanc and reprised in the film The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981). After Blanc's death, his voiced was provided by Joe Alaskey during his appearance in the The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries episode "The Golden Bird of Shangri-Claw" (1999).
- Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig and the Road Runner are the only major Looney Tunes characters that are absent in this film.
- T'Keyah Crystal Keymah and Kath Soucie who voice Aoogah and Lola respectively are uncredited in the film. The reason for this remains unknown.
- On the HD re-releases of the film released online on iTunes/Amazon Video and HBO Max as well as current TV airings, the 1994 Warner Bros. Family Entertainment opening logo with "A TIME WARNER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY" byline is replaced by the 2003 bylineless Warner Bros. Family Entertainment opening logo for unknown reasons. [1]
References[]
Video Clip[]
The Looney Tunes films |
---|
Featurette |
Adventures of the Road-Runner |
Behind-the-scenes documentaries |
Bugs Bunny: Superstar | Chuck Amuck: The Movie |
Greatest Hits retrospectives |
Centering on Bugs Bunny |
The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie | Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie | Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales | Looney Tunes Hall of Fame |
Centering on Daffy Duck |
Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island | Daffy Duck's Quackbusters |
Original cinematic material |
Space Jam | Looney Tunes Back in Action | Space Jam A New Legacy |
Direct-to-video releases |
Tweety's High-Flying Adventure | Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas | Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run | King Tweety | Taz: Quest for Burger |
Cameos |
Two Guys from Texas | My Dream Is Yours | It's a Great Feeling | A Political Cartoon | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Gremlins 2: The New Batch | Justice League: The New Frontier |